


take four, action

by sunbirds



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-12 14:59:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18448961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunbirds/pseuds/sunbirds
Summary: He's come to learn that messing with destiny is all a part of the plan. The line gets a little blurred sometimes.





	take four, action

**Author's Note:**

> heed that character death tag lmao it looks like fluff but it's snuff. not particularly graphic, but...  
> i didn't edit this even a little bit so it's probably typo and unfinished sentences central

He doesn't always take Luxu with him on trips like this, and that’s for the best. It’s not healthy to let him build up too much dependency, after all, and he’s going to need as much independence as he can get for the long road he doesn’t yet know is ahead of him.

 

Still, he thinks about him a lot when they’re apart, a side effect of a close relationship.

 

So when he’s admiring the contrast of bright yellow held within his own black gloved hands, it’s no wonder that his mind drifts to a certain diligent apprentice.

 

Their destinies are already well and truly intertwined, and there’s not much credence to be given to a fruit to hammer their fate in further, but it doesn’t hurt to try it out and see if it helps. If nothing else, it makes for a nice souvenir, and if everyone tries a piece then maybe they’ll all get along a little better, at least for a moment. Food brings people together, or something like that. Really, though, it’s just the one person that comes to the front of his mind for who to share it with.

 

He tucks the fruit away and hopes it doesn’t spoil easy.

 

* * *

 

When he returns, Luxu is exactly where he expects him to be, but he acts surprised about his presence all the same. That’s for naught, because Luxu doesn’t even look up at the sound of his entrance.

 

Disappointing, because the Master had spread his arms out like he expected the other to come running right into them. Oh well. It’s halfway endearing that he keeps the hood up even when his master is out, and even more so that he’s hunched over a book, copying down lines in a worn out notebook beside it. Such a studious boy. Later, he’ll probably be bombarded with questions about whatever is getting jotted down, but that’s a situation for the Master of the future to deal with.

 

“You’ll ruin your eyes like that,” he says perfectly conversationally as he steps closer and leans down to drape an arm over the back of Luxu’s chair, peering at the book.

 

Luxu startles, jerks up so quick that he has to pull back, too, lest he be at risk of having his jaw dislocated by his apprentice’s skull jamming into it. Luxu slams the book closed in the same instant, pen dropping to the wooden surface of the desk with a soft clatter. The Master whistles, low, and straightens up.

 

“Man, that’s some reaction. You’re not reading something naughty, are you?”

 

With all of the dusty old books around here, it wouldn’t be impossible for something to have gotten mixed up in Luxu’s study materials. Not everything has to be a scholarly pursuit.

 

“No,” Luxu defends, except he doesn’t sound too defensive, and that’s a little disappointing, too. Nothing’s cuter on him than embarrassment. He points to the cover of the book, and the Master entirely disregards so much as glancing at its title. He’ll hear all about it later anyway. “I just didn’t expect you back so soon. I thought, another few days...”

 

“But you’re happy to see me.” It doesn’t have to be a question. Luxu’s expression is hard to read in this dim lighting, at this angle, but he can imagine it’s a smile.

 

“Sure.”

 

Maybe not. He sounds so mellow. The Master groans, splaying his palms out on the desk and hanging his head.

 

“You’re not excited at all. Maybe I should have stayed there! At least the sand was clingier than you are. And I even brought you a gift, what a waste...”

 

“A gift?” There it is, a promising change of tone. That subtle shift in pitch from passive to curious.

 

“Oh, sure, _that_ got your attention. I see how it is.”

 

Luxu’s sigh is quieter than a moth landing, but not enough to be missed by sharp ears. “I’m happy that you’re back, Master.” There, now he sounds all shy. “Even if you didn’t have a gift for me, that wouldn’t change.”

 

“Mm-hm…” He moves away for a moment to grab himself a chair, but Luxu must take him getting up as disinterest, because he turns in his own seat to watch, probably thinking he's headed for the door, and from his peripheral the Master sees his shoulders droop with relief upon realizing his teacher isn’t about to ignore him.

 

What was it that he’d been thinking, just the other day, about unhealthy dependencies? It’s not so bad to have a captive audience.

 

The chair situation settled, he plops into it, and then drags himself closer to Luxu. The scraping of the chair legs against the floor are an unpleasant drumroll to announce the gift he pulls from the folds of his coat, wrapped in a length of banana leaf.

 

“Want to take a guess at what it is?”

 

Luxu’s eyes follow the Master’s hands as books are pushed away and the wrapped object is placed down on the wood of the spot right in front of him, and then they flit back up to the Master’s face.

 

“I don’t know. Food, maybe? But people write on these leaves, too, don’t they? So—”

 

The Master holds a hand up to stop Luxu in his tracks. “All right, okay, brainiac, you had it right the first time. But it’s not just _any_ food. Legend has it that if two people eat this, they’ll fall into a whirlwind of romance and be together forever! It’s nature’s love potion, all solidified and neatly packaged into one convenient snack.”

 

Luxu doesn’t look impressed underneath that hood, or maybe it’s pure confusion. He smiles back at it, and tips his head slightly, towards where this supposedly legendary food sits. Ever loyal, Luxu reaches for it, and with one last glance for approval which the Master gives in a nod, begins to unfold the leaf wrapping until it’s all laid out, a green background for the cheerful yellow of the fruit.

 

“Oh,” is all he says, picking it up to cradle it in his palms. The Master works very hard to contain the dissatisfaction with the simple reaction, but then he keeps talking. “Master, this isn’t really about romance at all. Isn’t it just- I’ve seen it in a book, it’s more like, well, it’s symbolic more than anything, and...”

 

Yeah, yeah, so they both know. He frowns, and that’s enough to cut Luxu off again.

 

“Luxu, you’re really spoiling all of the build-up. So it’s not about love, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be.”

 

That does it. Despite the ergonomic shape that should make the thing practically impossible to drop, Luxu fumbles with it, and it thuds to the leaf on the desk again. He’s really slow on the best reactions today, but maybe that’s what makes them even more worthwhile. He slides the fruit, wrapping and all, in front of the Master instead.

 

“Then, it’s not for me.” Oh, he sounds so small and far away, admonishing himself for something he doesn’t need to.

 

“‘Course it is,” the Master counters, pushing it back in front of Luxu. “Come on, I’m not about to eat it all by myself. I bet I’d get cursed to live out the rest of my days alone or something! And you don’t want that, right? Me neither! So we shouldn’t take any chances of messing with a legend, gotta do it right.”

 

Luxu doesn’t look at him. Stares at the fruit instead, expression hidden behind a layer of fabric and shadows. He’s quiet for long enough that the Master’s leg bounces impatiently and he starts to swear he can hear his pupil’s thoughts. He’s got to be nervous the way too much hopefulness makes people nervous, shifting a little in his chair like it’s a box with an engagement ring in front of him rather than a leaf and some fruit. Like everything they’ve done up until now has been child’s play in comparison to the promise an obnoxiously yellow piece of foreign produce is meant to bring.

 

Ugh, that’s cute. Or maybe he’s just projecting.

 

Just when he’s about to break the silence, Luxu makes a move, pulling the gloves off of his hands finger by finger to set them aside with a mumble, something along the lines of not wanting to get them sticky. He picks the fruit up, and with a little ‘hmph’ of exertion, breaks it in half. It splits evenly down the middle, strangely still pristine and undented or damaged other than a few drops of its juice that fall against the leaf or roll down to Luxu’s wrist. He hands over a half, and the Master sighs a little as he takes it.

 

“I thought we’d take a bite at the same time from opposite sides, or do something like an indirect kiss,” he notes with a trace of wistfulness. Luxu huffs a laugh, and the Master’s fake despondency disappears with the sound of it. He holds his half out, giving it enough of a shake to prompt Luxu into bumping his piece into it. “Here’s to staying a part of each other’s lives forever. Cheers.”

 

And then they both put it to their lips and bite down.

 

It’s almost plain in taste. Not very sweet, not very acidic or bitter, but there is something to it that’s new and pleasant. Refreshing on the tongue, crisp on the outside and soft and juicy in the middle. Come to think of it, he’s not sure if it was meant to be peeled first or what, but the rind gives tenderly to his teeth like a pear’s, so no harm done.

 

He swallows before his companion does, and they both stare at each other until Luxu’s swallowed, too. Then, his apprentice speaks up, hesitant. “... Are we supposed to eat it all? For it to work…” The last words are said softly, shyly, the same voice Luxu used to talk in when he was first taken in under the Master’s wing until he grew a bit more spine.

 

Sometimes, the Master likes to rattle that spine.

 

He shrugs. “Well _I_ don’t know, _you’re_ the one who read about it in a book. But it’s not like you believe in all of this symbolic stuff anyway, so it hardly matters, huh?”

 

If the way more of the fruit juice goes streaming down Luxu’s hand and disappearing underneath the sleeve of his coat is any indication, he’s squeezing his half just a little too hard right now.

 

“I never said that. But. It’d be a waste. If we didn’t eat it all, I mean.”

 

“Uh huh, sure would be.”

 

And so they both bite into it again, and again, eating in silence until they’re left with thin, flimsy leaves that they discard on top of the wrap. And that’s it. Their destiny together is sealed.

 

It’s pretty anticlimactic, though it had seemed sort of intense to stare Luxu down while eating it, like it really meant something despite talk of it only being symbolism.

 

“Well! That’s all! Hope you liked it, I’ll leave you to your studies, go and get myself some rest,” he starts when the silence gets to be too much.

 

Like clockwork, Luxu reaches out for him before he can stand from his seat. “Wait, Master.”

 

“What? Even if I skedaddle for now, we’re bound by fate. A nap isn’t gonna change that, you know.”

 

“I know, but…”

 

Luxu’s hand hangs in the air. It’s shiny in the lamplight, from the fruit. The Master’s gloves aren’t any better, he’s sure, so it’s not a big deal when he lifts his own hands to bring Luxu’s closer, undeterred by stickiness, and kisses and licks his apprentice’s fingers clean.

 

Luxu doesn’t protest, but he does clear his throat of what the Master can only assume is nervousness.

 

It’s cute, that he can still be nervous in these situations, it’s really cute, so he can’t help himself from getting a better look. He lets Luxu’s hand drop, and pushes the hood from his face, unzipping his coat just a few ticks to make sure nothing of his face is obscured. He’s missed it an awful lot, being away for too long. It’s just as he remembers, better in plain view rather than obscured as it often is by the hood, and there’s a deep redness across his cheeks. Luxu must have missed him just as much.

 

He drops his own hood away, and leans in for a proper kiss, but Luxu turns his head.

 

“What?”

 

“Wait, I…” He takes a deep breath, very. “I’m dizzy. It’s hard to breathe.”

 

“Aw, do I take your breath away? Make your head spin?”

 

“No.”

 

Ouch. Hurtful. He pouts, and Luxu’s brows furrow as he cranes his neck up for another long inhale, but it’s labored, shaky, and his mouth opens wide to gulp it in. The Master can see the muscles of his throat working as he swallows.

 

“Luxu? Are you choking?”

 

The shake of Luxu’s head is quick, as distressed as his expression is becoming. He swallows again around something that is apparently not there, and scratches desperately at his neck.

 

If he’s not choking, but his face is red and he’s dizzy and having trouble breathing, then…

 

“Master,” Luxu manages, but it’s all squeaky and comes out in a wheeze. His lips look redder and they haven’t even kissed yet. His tongue’s not forming the words he wants to say, because it’s getting big and clumsy in his mouth.

 

This isn’t something the Master had seen coming, and that’s fascinating. Tragedies usually are.

 

“Huh,” is all he comes back with, and he leans forward, and Luxu looks hopeful like the Master is a doctor examining a patient, but the Master simply takes his juice-sticky, gloved hands and brings them to Luxu’s cheeks, and closes the gap to kiss him before he pulls back.

 

“There’s not much I can do about this, Luxu.”

 

There probably is, actually. He’s got enough full vials around here that one of them might do the trick. But then, they could make this worse, too, and it’s already looking pretty bad.

 

“I guess destiny can be kind of cruel, and this is the end of the line for how long we stay in each other’s lives? It’s probably better that way for you.”

 

Luxu makes a noise, but it’s not anything like a word, too strangled to mean anything. The next sound is the same unpleasant drumroll of chair legs scraping across the floor as his heels push at the ground, like putting some distance between himself and the Master, the desk, everything, will somehow help. Room to breathe.

 

“But, hey, don’t worry. All those visions had to mean something, so, someone else will come along to fill the role. You wouldn’t believe the things I can do with a little bit of science on my side, actually. You were going to learn more about it one day, but… Well, I guess it’s not really _you_.”

 

Luxu’s shaking his head again, hyperventilating. His breathing sounds like it’s coming through a cheap whistle. He looks so betrayed that the Master finally rises from his chair, spreads his arms like he had when he’d first come in, except this time he’s not waiting for an embrace so much as he’s posturing against silent accusation.

 

“What? What’s that look for? I didn’t know you’d be allergic, don’t give me that. Fruit trees don’t come with a warning label.”

 

Maybe Luxu would look angry if he could, but his sweet face is all blotchy and miserable. The Master drops his arms back to his sides at the same moment his junior goes toppling to the floor, chair and all. Now he’s starting to feel guilty. He shuffles close and crouches down, picking Luxu up underneath the armpits just enough to get him sitting straight, and then thinks better of it, pulling him into a hug and stroking at his soft hair. Tucking Luxu’s face into the junction of his neck is a lot easier than staring each other down. Luxu struggles for a moment before he gives up with a sound that might be a sob, slumping all of his weight against his master.

 

“There, there. Forget everything I said. One way or another, you’re going to find your way back to me. I’ve seen it, and you’ll see it, too.”

 

If Luxu’s comforted by the idea, he doesn’t show it.

 

There are a few more rasps, and that’s about all the Master gets before he doesn’t hear much at all. Eventually, he pulls away from Luxu, gently maneuvering the dead weight around to lay him on the ground, and sighs as he pulls the zipper back up, shifts the hood on again.

 

With a grunt, the Master pushes himself up to a stand and steps around Luxu’s body to get to the desk. “How many is that now,” he wonders, idly rifling through the pages of the notebook Luxu had been writing in.

 

The words are neat, written carefully for later review. He skims, catching tidbits of what his protégé must have found interesting enough to place importance upon, but what he’s really looking for are the questions at the end that he knows must be there. They’re written without the same tidiness, but it’s still Luxu’s handwriting, the stuff he’d been working on before the Master had interrupted.

 

_Is destiny real, or do we make it up for ourselves? Is it just a way to give ourselves purpose? Is every person we meet a part of a plan, or do we only convince ourselves of it to make our goals seem more tangible?_

 

“Heavy stuff, Luxu, were you really expecting answers to this…”

 

_Can we avoid it?_

 

That’s all there is. He closes it up, and looks back down at the heap on the floor. “Afraid not… And I really thought I was onto something with this one. Ah, well. The next just has to be better than these last three.”

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> [@twitter](https://twitter.com/promptologist) for when you want to yell at me. i am grosser than this fic.


End file.
